Basically I am at a loss. Ive been working on this all day, the engine is currently completely dismounted and jacked up as far as the firewall will allow it. The oil pan will not come out, the bellhousing is still in the way... although not by much. I didnt think there was any chance of this happening when i started. If I would have known I was going to spend all day on this and still not have it out, i would have never even tried swapping out this stupid oil pressure spring.

Im about ready to drop the k-member but I am honestly afraid of taking this sucker apart any farther. This is getting out of hand fast. I cant find a good guide either.

 

With an Automatic you can remove the Convertor cover and sneak it by, however with a manual you have to remove the transmission because you simply can't get the motor high enough to clear the crank. The only other option is if you have a engine bay support bar you can brace the engine and unbolt the K-member. Beyond that with a lot of patience and effort you can clean the pan and block and sneak a new gasket it to seal it back up. Good luck

 

I lifted my motor as far as it would go and loosened the bolts on the kmember some and the stock pan slide right out...I do think I ground a small amout on the bottom of the bell housing so it made it a little easier.

 

As mentioned above, you can loosen the K-member bolts, basically do one at a time, remove the bolt completely, then thread it back in letting it grab about 4 threads, that will get you another 1/4-1/2" easy. Hopefully thats enough to get it out on an M6, my auto was a piece of cake to get out that way...also make sure the front crank counter weight and rod are each about half way up to give you the most clearence up front.

 

Need to take out the back two k-member bolts and loosen in the other 4. The k-member won't fall out because the spindles/upper a-arms are still holding it in so don't be too scared.

 

Yeah, forgot about that, I had to remove the strut tower bolts up top before mine would drop any...the driver side one by the master cylinder is a real pain to get to.

 

You don't have to remove the strut tower bolts or at least I didn't have to. Just loosen all the others up and then it should drop a little. You can actually pull on it a little to help get room. Rotating the motor so the counter weight like mentioned above is a really good idea too.

 

thanks for all the input guys, i appreciate it. i started loosening the k-member last night but just called it a day and went to a party.

I may end up dropping the entire k-member anyway because I am sick of not having any room to work. Plus then i can paint my engine block and engine bay up nice. I'll see.

 

try tuning the crank to a diffrent position

 

I pulled my oil pan out of my car with the tranny in. Slid right out, with a very small amount of persuasion. I just lifted the motor up from the front.

 

tried it already


Man i wish i was that lucky. I had [have] both engine mounts disconnected with the engine rammed up into the firewall, lifting from the crank hub. Even dented the tunnel an inch or two. Furthermore I even tried dropping the trans crossmember to tip it back further and still no luck.

 

at this point if you were at it all day you could have had the whole thing out the bottom

 

If I would have know I was going to be pulling my heads and changing this spring when i started the project... and also that this pan wouldnt come out any other way, I would have certainly done that.

things never go as planned though.

 

i must have a factory freak, or my pan was bent or something. I have an M6, and i just jacked the motor as far up as it would go, wiggled and pryed for a few minutes, and the pan came out.

I wonder why everyone else with m6's have problems with this?

 

Your sig says AI cam coming soon...if you are doing the cam, its a good idea to drop the pan for that because of the front timing cover, so you could have just waited to do it all at once Getting the front cover back on without at least lowering the front of the pan is a real pain...then getting it to seal back up without leaks is near impossible.